MARY McNAB was treated for a cut to her head and a bruise on her leg after her fall at home - but medics failed to spot a broken hip because no X-ray was given.

A 94-YEAR-OLD woman who suffered a fall at home was sent back there from hospital – with an undiagnosed broken hip.

Medics failed to spot Mary McNab had damaged her joint after she was taken to hospital by her family two weeks ago.

She was treated for a cut to her head which needed three stitches and had a bruise on her leg after taking a tumble at her home.

But despite her age, blundering docs at Forth Valley Royal Hospital, in Larbert, Stirlingshire, failed to give her an X-ray when she was taken in by her worried family.

Mary, of Denny, near Falkirk, spent the next week recovering in bed at home and didn’t realise she had a broken hip until she woke up seven days later in agony and couldn’t walk.

Her worried family then called an ambulance but were told one wouldn’t be sent as it “wasn’t an emergency”.

Mary’s GP surgery also said they couldn’t send a doctor out until the afternoon but her family were so worried about the pain she was in that they carried her out to the car and drove her back to hospital themselves. They were shocked to find an X-ray at the hospital revealed Mary had a broken hip and she was operated on the next day.

She is now on the mend but the family, including oldest daughter Patricia Reynolds and her husband Joseph, are furious at her treatment.

Joseph, 68, said: “After Mary got out of hospital following her fall, she spent the next week in bed resting.

“It wasn’t until she went to get up a week later that she realised she couldn’t and she was in agony. She had been in a lot of pain but she had a big bruise on her leg, so we thought that was causing the distress.

“Then on Monday she woke up in terrible pain so we called for an ambulance but the operator refused to send one out, saying it wasn’t an emergency.

“A neighbour then helped me lift her into the car and we drove her back to hospital where they gave her an X-ray and told us she had a broken hip.

“Mary is so independent, she wouldn’t want to cause a fuss, but it is disgusting the way she has been treated. This has been such a kick in the teeth. She could have died and we are really devastated at how she has been treated by the NHS.”

Joseph, of Cowie, Stirlingshire, says the break would have been diagnosed if Mary had been given an X-ray when she was first taken to hospital.

NHS Forth Valley said: “All patients are given a thorough examination when they arrive in the emergency department and are assessed and treated according to their symptoms.

“We would urge the family to get in touch with us as soon as possible, so we can look into the concerns which they have raised about this patient’s care and treatment.”